Gold Medalist in the "faint praise" division.

Don't you all ever wonder if bernbart is just yankin' our chain?

I actually think (and Holly McLachlan once asserted this, as I recall, [although I may be wrong--so don't assault me over it]) that she is.

I'm conflicted about this. Do I respond because she goads me/us? Or do I not because she's playing a game?

I really do not know the answer to that. Last week, I think it was, someone reprimanded me for responding to her and playing about in the comment section.

But, as I said to that person, life is short and (what I didn't say was) how much fun will the comments be if everyone and his brother is uber-serious?

Honestly, if Glenn's comment section turned into something like a visit to the university library stacks, well, how many would hang around?

As I see it, there are two likely factors that have resulted in the press being such passive sycophants to authority:

- Journos are forced to compete with each other, which used to mean finding the juiciest dirt, but these days means getting preferential treatment from the newsmakers. so, in order to be the one called on for an interview, a journalist has to behave themselves and print exactly what they are asked to. over time, we end up with a press that has incredibly familiar relationship with the powerbrokers but no actual journalistic skills at all.

- Or, we have slowly wound up with all major media outlets under the ownership of a handful of megacorporations. the megacorps commercial interests trump any need for the media to be impartial, so the journalists are judged on their ability to bend events so that they are good for business. Most of the time, that means being good to politicians so that the megacorp's lobbying in other areas will bear fruit.

So which of these is the real cause of this mess? I believe it's the second choice; the legal and financial structures that own the printing presses are far too busy pushing their own interests to worry about integrity or speaking truth to anyone.

I believe that it's pointless to criticise individuals like Chuck Todd, as deserving as they may be, while we allow their employers to be so heavily influenced by their own corporate interests.

Now he's currently ranked in the top 10 of most influential columnist in America.

Do I need to go on or does the above count as "real world success"?

-- rrheard

I don't know if I'd put that last one in the resume'.

Have you seen that list? Glenn is behind Freidman, Dowd, Malkin, Hitchens and Krauthammer. But yet Krugman is number one, so the list reads like The Onion got a hold of it and slipped in a few humdingers just to mess with our heads.

she's got hairspray in her eyes and toxic amounts of acetone vapor in her brain.

Next you'll set her off chattering about how "teh awesomest" is the New York Times. I think she loves it because instead of using it as is customary as fishwrap or bird cage liner, she's "rolling her own". I hear smoking "inkprint rolled indica" really amplifies the polyvinylpyrrolidine and acetone high. Just have to be careful not to have an open flame around her when she's getting primped up for a Boalt Hall mixer.

Oh bernie . . . you forgot to tell Glenn what a big fat nobody he is and that he's not a real journalist like Mr. Cronkite.

Honestly, if Glenn's comment section turned into something like a visit to the university library stacks, well, how many would hang around?

-- Timothy3

Don't misunderstand my comment as a suggestion to you or anyone about not posting replies. That was not what I had in mind by my comment.

Thank you Glenn for speaking truth to power!

The New York Times reports that Amazon.com found out that the publisher of Kindle versions of George Orwell's books 1984 and Animal Farm decided that it didn't want to give the rights to a Kindle version. So Amazon.com used its wireless connection to each Kindle to delete copies on various owners' Kindles and refunded their money. You see, because of the wireless connection, Amazon.com knows what books are on your Kindle and it can delete them or modify them at will.

Apparently, the irony of deleting a book about Big Brother watching you was lost on both the publisher and Amazon.com.

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2009/07/control-at-distance.html

In response to the member who said Greenwald is not a successful blogger.

Obama's buddy and regular defender Marc Ambinder recently said the following: "whereas the White House does not give a scintilla of attention to its right-wing critics, it does read, and will read, everything Glenn Greenwald writes. Obama, according to an administration official, finds this outside pressure healthy and useful."

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/05/the_rubicon_of_indefinite_detention.php

I'm sort of conflicted but like all "lists of things" there are going to be clunkers. That Freidman, Dowd, Malkin, Hitchens and Kraphammer are ahead of GG just means he has a target rich environment. I'll enjoy watching as his star rises while the stars of the aforementioned hacks fall.

Sort of like seeing the rise of Stevie Ray Vaughn from little known guitarist popping up on a popular Bowie album to being a full blown star based on his own virtuosity.

And if nobody cares I'd like to nominate myself as the designated "hitter" when it comes to bashing bernie. I'm not sure why but I derive an inordinate level of cathartic satisfaction from ripping her high hanging curveballs into left field. Don't really know why. I'm sure she's a lovely human being in person but she's incredibly annoying here.

I derive an inordinate level of cathartic satisfaction from ripping her high hanging curveballs into left field.

-- rrheard

Myrna Minkoff gets some smashing whacks in once in a while too.

but that isn't a very good comparison because Bowie is still great while Dowd, Friedman, Malkin, and Kraphammer have never been great. Maybe the comparison should have been with Zamfir the pan flutist--popular with a certain segment of the population that is less than discriminating in its tastes.